Son of a Scorpion
by Unices
Summary: Kankuro discovers that he is not the son of the 4th Kazekage and sets out on a journey to find out who is his father. His travels will teach him lies told, lives ruined, and most importantly how to lead. T for Language
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

Missing information

Kankuro was waiting outside of the enemy base. "Hurry the hell up," he whispered. He'd taken out all of the guards but he knew that they should know that they were being attacked right about now. Baki was inside getting the scroll they needed. A bomb went off somewhere in the base. "Baki don' make me come and get you," he whined pulling out his puppet scroll. He had a new puppet but it was not ready for testing, but crow and ant had barely any poison left. Another reason to get out of there quickly. A small poof told him Baki was finally there.

"Did you bust a wall or something?" asked Kankuro as he put the scroll away.

"Something like that," Baki answered as another wall blew up. Sequenced explosive notes.

"Blowing up a base? We were just sent here to get a scroll," Kankuro replied.

"I felt it would help make a mark. Now let's get back to Suna," Baki turned and started running with Kankuro behind him. Kankuro didn't bother putting either crow or ant away. Instead he set ant behind Baki and Crow behind him. Didn't want any one to die on him. Having Gaara almost die was bad enough.

Back in Suna…

Gaara opened up the trapdoor that lead to the mansion's attic. Temari, his older sister, was going through boxes. "You're not going to find anything this place is as useful as a broken kunai," Gaara told her. Gaara had hid up her when he was little. He had never found anything interesting.

Temari scoffed, "Maybe you've never looked hard enough," she pulled out a white dress, "What is this?" she asked looking at it.

Gaara walked over, "I've never seen any article of clothing like it." The dress looked like it was wrapped upon itself multiple times. The fabric was smooth like silk, but it was lighter, and almost translucent.

"Huh," Temari said handing it off to Gaara and reaching into the box for the next item. A veil. It was made of blue lace and the pattern was simple, till it started to make a butterfly, though it was thinner where the eyes would be. Then it came to a point further down and ended in another lace pattern. Two words. "Blue moth?" Temari questioned.

She again handed it off to Gaara, who'd set the dress on another group of boxes, before pulling out a picture, of their mother, "What the Hell?" exclaimed Temari. There was their mother, dressed in the dress as well as the veil on her head, lifted back. Her mouth open, like she was laughing. Temari frowned. She'd never heard her mom laugh. She looked at the back of the photo. _My wedding _was written in her mom's beautiful calligraphy. "She wasn't wearing this when she married dad did she?" Temari wondered aloud.

"She isn't wearing the dress in the albums," Gaara responded. Temari didn't say anything. Her mom had been making scrap book albums since Temari was little, up until the day she died. Temari started making one right before the Chunin exams, in a way to keep her mother alive when she had thought about her the most. When she found out that she was going to be stuck with Gaara as she went to the Chunin exams. Gaara however had gone through them way more then Temari had.

"Are you sure Gaara?" Temari turned and asked him.

Gaara sighed before poofing away only to reappear in another poof holding one of the albums. He opened it to a page and pointed to a picture. Temari's eyes followed where her brother pointed. There mother was not wearing the same dress. This white dress was very simple and had a lower cut neck, exposing some cleavage. Definitely not the same dress.

"So mom was married before this?" Temari questioned.

"Seems that way," Gaara responded.

"Hmmm….but to who?" Temari looked again at the picture. Could this have been the reason why her mom had never laughed?

Gaara's hand went down into the box as Temari examined her mom in both pictures. She seemed less happy at the second wedding, though she was beautiful. "Oh My Giraffe," Temari looked up from her place on the floor to where Gaara stood. He held in his hands a piece of paper.

"What?" Temari asked him.

Gaara didn't say anything; instead he ran to the trapdoor and quickly climbed down the ladder. Temari not wanting to be left behind followed suite. Gaara burst into his office and pulled a drawer open and pulled out a file. Quickly he opened it up, and started to shift through its contents. "Gaara what is going on here?"

Gaara didn't say anything; he pulled out three sheets of paper and examined them. "It's a fake…"

"What's a fake? Gaara what the fuck is going on?" Temari yelled.

Gaara pulled up two sheets of paper, "Do you know what these are?"

Temari examined the pieces of paper. They were the same except one had Gaara's name and his birthdate on it, the other one bared hers. "Our birth certificates?"

Gaara nodded, "Take a look in the upper left corners, at the sign of our village." Temari studied them for a moment. There were dents in the body.

"The bodies are dented?" She questioned.

"As proof that they are not forged," Gaara said as he set them down and showed her the other pieces of paper. "Now look at these." They were the same; they were both Kankuro's birth certificate, except one had most of the father's name scribbled out, and words written in their mom's calligraphy,_ He will know someday_. Upon reading those Temari gazed up to the left corners. The one that came out of the folder, the one that stated that they had the same father and mother, didn't have the dent. The other one, the one that they couldn't tell who the father was, but could read their mom as clear as day, had the dent in it.

"Kankuro is our half-brother?" Temari gasped. It seemed like too much, there were no other men around her mother. Not that she remembered any way. The only one other then there father was her brother and Baki. But she'd always been brought up to know that Kankuro was her brother, sharing both her father's and mother's DNA.

"I know, but for some reason dad wanted to cover it up," Gaara stated looking at both certificates.

"The only other guy who was even allowed near mom though was Baki…." Temari mentioned.

"Holy Shitake Mushrooms! Baki is Kankuro's dad!" Gaara yelled as the epiphany hit him. The two siblings looked at each other.

"We have to tell Kankuro," Temari told him.

"He's on a mission, with Baki." Silence filled the room.

"Well we'll just have to tell him when he gets back," Temari retorted.

"Tell who what?" asked Kankuro as he and Baki entered the room.

**And I'll leave you hanging. I love this plot, now push the green button and say 'I have a Scorpion Tattoo, if you read this and if you loved it.**

**Oh and Gaara will not curse in here. XD**


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

Kankuro's Hatred

Kankuro had locked himself in his room. His mind was reeling. What he had been told had, within in seconds had shattered his world, and everything he thought he was. Temari was the one who told him, but it took both Garra and her to convince him. The one birth certificate, the one that told him that the fourth had been his father, was a _lie._ A lie that was supposed to be a dark secret that he had to live with. The other would not tell him who it was, and Baki was no help.

_Flashback…_

"_I am not his father," Baki had told them in a stern voice, before he turned to him. "I do however know who he is Kankuro, and he would be proud of you."_

"_Who is he?" Kankuro had asked his sensei._

"_I...can't tell you Kankuro."_

_End Flashback…_

"Who am I?" Kankuro asked toward the darkness. He had been here since the early afternoon, had not turned on the light, and as the sun sank his room grew darker.

"Kankuro?" Temari's voice came from behind the door. "Come down stairs dinner's ready." Temari had taken care of them since Gaara had scared a cook away, and even now they didn't think of getting one. He heard the doorknob jingle. His sister said something under her breath, possibly swearing though Kankuro could not tell what curse she was using. "Kankuro! Open The Door!" He made no movement. He was not at all hungry, nor did he want to face his brother or sister at the moment. He refused to think of them as his half-siblings. They were his brother and sister, but they did not share the same father.

Temari stopped trying to get him to come out and left in a huff. The room got darker, and as the dark increased so did his anger. _'Why did he abandon me? If he was my father why did he leave me to be raised by that jerk?! Why didn't Mom tell me? Why doesn't Baki tell me?!?!?!' _He got so mad with the last one that he picked up a wrench from the floor and flung it across the room. Crash! Kankuro glanced over and turned on the light.

He had left Crow, Ant and his new puppet, still unnamed, on a table on that end on the room because it was closer to the door. The wrench had hit the pile and sent them sprawling on the floor. Crow had his face cracked in half, part of it lying open. Kankuro stood there shocked. He walked over, untangled the puppets and took Crow from the pile. He surveyed the damage. Crow was going to need a new face, and some of the inner mechanisms were bent. Kankuro rushed carefully over to another bench and laid Crow on it as carefully as one would place a newborn in a crib. "I guess we're now both in the need of repairs," Kankuro muttered to himself as he took away the rest of Crow's original face and started to work on the insides of Crow's head.

Kankuro was immersed in the world of gears and wood work all night. By dawn he's repaired Crow, made a new face from spare wood and painted it, before finally heading to bed. He slept the entire day, though half-way through he was immersed in dreams where he was chasing a man and calling. He never saw the man's face and he always was ahead of Kankuro. Kankuro in the dream was a small kid and he kept calling "Dad! Wait for me! He muttered this all though out his sleep.

The next day…

Kankuro awakened feeling like a bear was clawing at his stomach. He lay there for a few minutes before opening his eyes. He sat up and glanced around the room. The previous day's events crashed down on him when he saw Crow. This was one time Kankuro was glad he was a ninja. He had learned to hide his feelings long ago thanks to Gaara and the way he was brought up. He stood up and walked over to the door, unlocked it and left his room.

Kankuro went to the kitchen and opened there refrigerator. He then stuffed his face with leftovers from the previous night and other nights before. It was minutes before he was disturbed.

"Kankuro what in the hell are you doing?" Kankuro turned, part of a chicken breast hanging out of his mouth. Baki was standing there, not stern as he normally seemed. There was something different, though Kankuro knew not what nor cared. He stuffed the rest of the chicken breast in his mouth and stood facing Baki, the automatic chewing reflux quickly getting rid of the chicken.

"Temari told me that you wouldn't come out of your room last night," Baki stated. Kankuro made no movement. He didn't want to talk. Especially to Baki. "You're angry," Baki continued, "and upset. I can tell that by just looking at you."

Kankuro didn't want to be consoled at the moment and turned away. "Kankuro," Kankuro stopped moving, "If I could tell you I would, but I can't. It is something you'll have to find out yourself."

Kankuro could stand it no longer, he spun around and yelled, "You Mother Fucking Piece of Shit!! If You Could You Would Shit I Can't Take It Any More!! Tell Me!" With the last two words he lunged him self, kunai in hand toward Baki and pinned him against the wall. He held the kunai by his neck.

Baki stayed still for a few moments, Kankuro breathed heavily, and then Baki spoke, "If you want to know so bad, kill me."

Shock went through Kankuro. His sensei was telling him to kill him. He had been ready to kill him moments ago, but the having the permission shocked him. His body shook, and he dropped the kunai.

He fell to his knees. All the pain, anger, sadness and all the other things he had felt crashed down on him. And he cried, full out cried. Baki stood there, not touching him. Not reprimanding him like his fake father had done when he or Temari cried as little kids. No he just stood there understanding, and being there.

**Yes it is late but I blame writer's block. Until next time**


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

Baki's Oath

Baki stood in a dark room, which only had an oil lamp for light and a chair, and a small chest. Baki sat down on the chair carefully opened the chest, and looked in. There were countless letters in side, all addressed to him. All but one. One was addressed to Kankuro.

Baki picked up the one addressed to his former student and studied it.

_Flashback…_

"_I am not his father," he had told the Sand Siblings in a stern voice before turning to address Kankuro. "I do however know who he is Kankuro, and he would be proud of you."_

"_Who is he?" Kankuro asked him._

"_I…can't tell you Kankuro," Baki hoped that Kankuro would leave it at that. Well like any good Shinobi he didn't._

"_Can't…or Won't?" Kankuro asked stressing the last word._

"_Won't," Baki stated. He didn't look Kankuro in the eye. He already knew what he'd see there if he looked up. He'd seen that look many years ago, in some one else's eyes._

_Flashback within a flashback…_

"_Can't...or Won't?" asked Baki to a man who was hiding in the shadows. Yashamaru was standing beside him._

"_Can't…If I wanted to win," the man told him._

"_You mean you won't?" Yashamaru asked him._

"_I can't if we want the children to be safe," The man stated._

"_Why?" Baki asked._

"_Because of this," the man sent his arm into the moonlight. There were scars from what looked like had happened after a fire. Tons of them crisscrossing across his arm. He pulled it back. "I can't fight like I once did, and if I couldn't beat him then, what makes you think I can beat him now?"_

_Baki bit his lip. His plan was a long shot. Overthrow the Kazekage; get the children under someone who would care about them. But neither he nor Yashamaru could defeat him. Only one person could, and then he couldn't._

_Silence filled the alley. Then the man in the shadows spoke, "So he wants you to kill Gaara Yashamaru?_

"_Yes," the dejected medic told him._

"_I have a plan, its risky but it is going to be the only thing to save Gaara," the man said, "but it is also a great risk to Kankuro and Temari."_

"_What is your plan?" Baki asked him._

"_Yashamaru you're going to attempt to kill him, only use dull kunai. If my theory is correct the Shukaku will force Gaara to harm you in an attempt to save himself. I don't however think he will kill you. You take care of Gaara after all. This is where the difficult part comes in. You're going to lie to him."_

"_Lie? To my sister's youngest son? I couldn't do that. He deserves the tru-" Yashamaru fretted._

"_The truth won't save him now, Yashamaru. You must tell him that his mother cursed his birth, not because of what she knew what his father was to do to him. But a curse to the village. You are to ask him to die, and be blown up. You have to commit suicide," The man told Yashamaru sternly._

_Yashamaru gazed at the sand,"Is it the only way?"_

"_The only way I can see."_

"_I'll do it," Yashamaru told him._

"_You can't be serious!" Baki exclaimed. He looked back at the man in the shadows,"You said that you'd never order any one to make this kind of sacrifice!"_

"_I'm not, I presented my plan and Yashamaru accepted it." The man told him before turning to leave. "Oh and another thing," he said turning back around,"Baki you must swear never to tell them who Kankuro's father is. Unless he or you are killed."_

"_I can't do that," Baki told him shaking his head._

"_Can't or Won't?" He asked._

"_Won't."_

_End flashback within the flashback_

_He had let himself been worn to the point that he did take an oath to not to, and every day he was reminded by looking at Kankuro._

_He heard foot steps and a slamming of the office door. Kankuro had left._

"_Why won't you tell him?" asked Gaara._

"_I made a promise."_

_End Flashback…_

"You always knew what to do to make me agree with your notions brother, but I can't keep this hidden from him."

Baki took the scroll and put it in his kunai pouch. He then teleported out of the room to the wall of Suna. "So you're the one who's patrolling after me? Does Gaara suspect an attack or something?" Temari asked him.

"Not patrolling. Thinking," Baki told her.

"Kankuro wouldn't come out of his room for dinner," Temari told him, "It's not like him."

"He may never be the same again Temari. This is a pretty big event in his life. What would you do if you found out that he wasn't your father?" He asked her.

"I'd scream hell yeah, and then I'd try to find out who he is," Temari told him.

Baki leaned against the wall, "So you don't let your dad define who you are? Or what you have to live down?" Temari stayed silent. "Every single one of us have things that determine who you are," Baki continued, "Some things that we can't control. Like where we were born, how we were disciplined, or who our relations are. Other things can be changed, like how we act, who we talk too. Even how we go about things. These define people, Temari, and right now Kankuro has lost one of the things that defined him. A major thing. It was something he had to live down."

Temari looked out toward the desert, "I hope he gets over it soon. Mostly anybody would be better to be considered a father. Definitely not that son of a bitch that I had."

"There's no way he'll get over it. Not until he's ready," Baki said as he turned to go, "But I'll see if I can speed the process up."

Baki walked through the village. It wasn't long before he came up on the Sand Siblings house.

He entered and walked through the familiar hall ways. He stopped when he heard something in the kitchen. Kankuro was eating straight out of the fridge. "Kankuro what the hell are you doing?" He asked.

Baki had to fight the urge to laugh. Kankuro had turned around half a chicken breast hanging out of his mouth, war paint smeared like he had never taken it off. Kankuro quickly stood up and finished the chicken breast. This would be where Baki's plan had to work. There were only two outcomes from this that would be favorable.

"Temari told me that you wouldn't come out of your room last night," Baki told him. Kankuro's face darkened. Baki could see that he didn't want to talk with him right now. He could use this to his advantage. "You're angry," he stated. Something obvious like this would get on Kankuro's nerves at a time like this, "and upset," another no brainier, "I can tell just by looking at you." Kankuro had always prided himself with being one of the best hiders of his emotions. So much that he would brag them off to Temari. He had to pile on small insults, if his plan were to work the faster way.

Kankuro turned away. Baki had not suspected this. He had to save his plan. Kankuro had to know. "Kankuro," Baki commanded. His voice hung in the air as Kankuro stopped. He would be furious in a moment, and in his state there would be only one thing he would do. Baki had been a ninja long enough and new Kankuro well enough to know that his bait could kill him.

"If I could tell you I would, but I can't," a lie and he knew that Kankuro knew that, "It's something you have to find out for your self."

Those words had just barley left his lips when Kankuro spun around, "You Mother Fucking Piece of Shit!! If You Could You Would Shit I Can't Take It Any More!! Tell Me!" Baki set him self up to guard out of instinct as Kankuro lunged himself at him. Baki allowed him self to get pinned to the wall, cold steel touching his neck.

Kankuro was breathing heavily. "If you want to know so bad, kill me," Baki told him. He felt the metal knife grow slack. The first, and most desirable outcome wasn't happening. Kankuro would have to wait. Baki watched as Kankuro was consumed by the raw emotions that he had been feeling during the last night and the moments that he had just shared.

Kankuro fell to his knees, and cried. Truly cried. Baki stood there. He didn't more forward, put a hand to his back nor anything. All Kankuro needed was to sort through his emotions. Baki knew what lay after this, and though he did not desire it, he felt a relief that he had not been killed like planned.

**Did this from Baki's pov because I needed to clear up some things. I hope that this improves my writing Randomness () Reviews are welcome and the reviewers get to party on coughdigitalcough Mtn Dew.**


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4

The Beginning

Kankuro knelt there, his war paint further smudged by the tears that had been running down his cheeks. He was now dry sobbing, his sholders shaking, and all a mess.

"You're a mess," Baki told him as he grabbed one of Kankuro's arms and hauled him up from the kitchen floor. Baki pulled Kankuro toward the stairs and lead him to the bathroom.

"Get your self cleaned up. Then I'll tell you how to find your father," Baki told him before heading to the first floor of the Sand siblings' house.

Elsewhere…

Temari was bored. Majorly bored. Gaara had just sent her a messenger saying that her replacement was going to be late, and well let's just say that Temari was looking forward to taking a nap.

A small poof told her that some one else was there. Probably another messenger here to tell her that she would have to cover another shift at the wall, "Temari," nope it was Gaara.

She turned around, "The elders giving you a hard time or something?" Temari asked him. The elders were always giving Gaara a hard time about something or another. They couldn't move him about as they thought they would be able to when the put him in the position.

"I wish," Gaara told her, "No I just got two people who want S rank missions, and there is only one ninja that they want to carry it out."

"How is that a problem? If they have the same time constraints then you send other ninja in place on the less expensive mission," Temari told him.

"They want Kankuro. They are both espionage missions,"

"Fucking shit," Temari cursed under her breath as she turned back toward the dessert.

"As kazekage I can't keep him out of missions like this, but as a brother I can't let him go either," Gaara told her.

"I don't see why not, we have plenty of ninja who can perform the missions," Temari mentioned, "but Kankuro would be pissed if he heard that a mission that was going to be given to him was given to somebody else."

"It's not just that. We can't inform any one else about Kankuro's birth certificate and I don't think that he would be in any state to go on a mission."

"Who exactly is asking for him?" Temari asked.

"He was asked to by the daminyo of our country and the Yasu clan," Gaara told her.

Temari bit her lip. The daminyo had, since the Chunin exams, requested Gaara, Kankuro, and her, on missions. Ever since they had become Jonin there were times where either she or Kankuro had been requested by name, because of their skills.

The Yasu clan on the other hand was a surprise. Yasu, which meant peace, did not describe the clan at all. They always had a mission or something that they wanted a ninja to go on. However they were not ninja themselves, but probably the most dangerous political people in Suna. To cross them could mean that they'd hire an assassin. However they were more of political backers, preferring to move in the shadows. It was a surprise to see that they wanted Kankuro by name, especially for an espionage mission.

"You can claim that he's been given a week off of missions," Temari told him, "after all Kankuro's been going on a ton of them lately. I'm sure that a break wouldn't be too suspicious."

Gaara nodded, "That makes sense. Then he can't argue, he did ask for a break a couple of weeks ago." With that Gaara poofed away.

Temari sighed and turned and looked out over the wall. She was waiting a long time for her replacement. A hell of a long time.

Poof. _'What now?'_ she thought as she turned toward the sound. A ninja stood there glancing back at her. "I'm sorry I'm late, but there was a problem at the academy." Any other day Temari would have yelled, but today she just didn't feel up to it.

"Just start guarding," she spat heading toward the guard house and down the stairs. She needed a walk. First Kankuro and who were his dad and then the Yasu clan, it was just too much to think about.

She walked toward the center of the village and then turned toward the wall again, toward the gate. The frown on her face as she walked. It made no sense. After reaching the gate she took off. She had to get out of the village. She had to think.

She ran not far she could see Suna out of the corner of her eye she turned and kept running. Running helped clear her head, or it would have if she hadn't spotted another shinobi running. She could tell that it was a shinobi by their speed. Her eyes narrowed. She really didn't have time to deal with this today.

She sped up so as to intercept the ninja. He must have caught sight of her because he sped up. Temari took the fan off her back and sent a weak wind jutsu toward him, knocking him off of his feet. As she got closer, she identified who it was.

"Crybaby did you have to fall down in that pitiful breeze?" she yelled at him.

"You call that a pitiful breeze, you troublesome woman?" he said as she ended up right beside him.

"Well it certainly wasn't a gale so it must have been a breeze," she answered leaning on her fan, "What are you doing here anyway lazy ass? I didn't think Tsunade would be sending you here on any missions here. I would know," she told him with a smirk.

"Actually I got a vacation," he told her from down on the ground.

"How'd you manage that?" Temari asked.

"I bribed her." Temari broke out laughing.

"With what?" She asked.

"Well I didn't bribe her; I got Naruto to do it for me-Ow!" Temari had promptly smacked Shikamaru for that one.

"You're so lazy that someone else bribed her for the vacation for you?" Temari scolded.

"I tried and failed then Naruto bribed her, he's really good at bribing her."

"So what brings you to Suna Shikamaru? Normally I have to go to see you."

"Well it's not my fault that your brothers scare the crap out of me," Shikamaru answered. Temari did a mental double take. Even hearing that reference seemed to have changed because of the birth certificate.

She shook her head, "That still doesn't answer my question Shikamaru."

"I came here to ask you something."

Back at the Sabaku household…

Kankuro came down the stairs and sat across from Baki in the sand sibs' living room. "Who is he, Baki?" He asked his Sensei.

"I'm not going to tell you that Kankuro. I made a promise. It is something you have to find out yourself. I can help you however," Baki told him in a completely level voice.

"Then tell me how to find him," Kankuro demanded.

"It won't be easy," Baki told him as he unrolled a map, "You can't find him till you know who he is, and finding that out could kill you. Here in this area of the country live several groups of traveling nomads, and one of these groups are called the Harbueki. They not only know who your father is but they will definitely tell you. However, they are a strange group," Baki looked up at Kankuro.

"They are the reason you wear the paint, Kankuro. Not just because you are a puppeteer, your parents specifically chose the pattern that you wore from a young age till you were about twelve because it mimicked a pattern that was used by the nomad tribes," Baki told him.

"Then my dad is from a nomad tribe?" Kankuro asked.

"No, your mother came from the tribe," Baki told him.

"That doesn't make any sense," Kankuro said, "Then why didn't my Uncle Yashamaru, and Temari and Gaara wear paint-"

"For protection!" Baki interrupted, "Yashamaru didn't wear the paint so as to keep quiet the fact that the nomad tribe did that, and to show loyalty to the village. Had your sister and brother adorned it like your mother had you do and they ran into the nomad tribe they would be subject to an attack. The nomads do not take kindly to outsiders. Only certain circumstances can allow someone new in. And further more, they'd never accept Gaara or Temari in because of who they are, not even if they were dying on their door step. Temari and Gaara are not your father's kids and therefore considered abominations, because the nomads did not approve of the Kazekage. The marriage was forced."

"So I was allowed because they knew my dad?" Kankuro asked.

"In a way, though I can't explain anything more. You're going to have to figure it out on your own," Baki told Kankuro.

"So I have to find them?" Kankuro asked.

"Unless you're fine not knowing."

"I'm going."

Later that day….

Kankuro examined his several pack. Tons of water skins were clipped to it. Check. Plenty of food. Check. Refills for poison, antidotes, first aid kit, and a puppet repairing toolbox in a scroll. Check.

"I'm ready," he whispered to himself.

"Are you sure?" Baki asked as he walked into Kankuro's room. "You have no idea what's out there."

"Yeah, it's now or never." Kankuro put the pack on and turned toward his sensei.

"You're going to have to get permission from Gaara," Baki told him.

"I was going to leave him a note," Kankuro told him.

"And have him and Temari be on your tail? Not a good idea if you want to do this you have to do it on your own," Baki told him.

"Do I have to be alone? You seem to know a lot about them and I could use your help," Kankuro asked.

"I can't come with you Kankuro," Baki told him.

"All right then," Kankuro muttered, "I guess you aren't going to let me go any where till I see Gaara though eh?"

"That's right," Baki told him.

"Then let's go see Gaara."

In Gaara's office…

"You want to do what?" Gaara asked Kankuro.

"I want to leave," Kankuro repeated, "to find out who he is."

"Hippo No Kankruo1," Gaara told Kankuro.

"I'd be back as soon as I could," Kankuro said glaring at his younger brother.

"No," Gaara told him, "You have no idea where to start looking-"

"Actually I do have an idea," Kankuro's voice was starting to rise.

'_This is not going well,'_ Baki thought_, 'I thought he was going to let him leave. Probably should've told Gaara.'_

Kankuro was explaining to Gaara his plan, "There are many traveling nomads and I'm sure that-"

"No." Gaara was not even budging.

"Oh come on at least you know who both of your parents are!" Kankuro yelled.

"I can't let you out of the village Kankuro," Gaara told him.

"Well I can always leave without your permission," Kankuro responded back.

Just then the door banged open with Temari and Shikamaru walking into Gaara's office.

"You want to try?" Gaara snapped standing out of his chair leaning on the desk.

"I can dodge any group of ninja's you send at me," Kankuro snapped back.

"You leave and I will not hesitate to declare you a missing nin-" Gaara started.

"What in Hell is going on here?!" Temari interrupted.

'_Ahh,' _thought Baki, _'never thought I would be happy to see Temari yelling at her brothers...'_

"He wants to leave," Gaara told her pointing at Kankuro.

"I want to go and, should he even be listening?" Kankuro exclaimed pointing at Shikamaru, which he just noticed was there.

"Well…I think he should," Temari answered after some mock thought, "but that really doesn't work with the situation doesn't it. And weren't you going to stay in your room moping all day?" Temari asked pointing at Kankuro.

"We had decided that only family members and Baki would know about you-know-what, Temari," Gaara told her.

"Yeah, well he's my fiancé," Temari told them resulting in Baki, Kankuro, and Gaara performing an animae fall.

"Since when?!" Kankuro yelled right after he recovered.

"About fifteen minutes," Temari told him.

"Doesn't count," Gaara told her.

"But he'll have to know eventually," Baki said from the corner, "might as well tell him now don't you think?"

Gaara sighed, "Fine, but only because he has an IQ of over 200 and would probably figure it out anyway." Gaara looked over at Temari and Shikamaru, "Temari and I were going through the attic and found an odd box. Inside we found a copy of Kankuro's birth certificate. We don't know who his father is; the one that told us that he was our full brother was a fake. Now Kankuro wants to go to an area of the desert in which there are not a lot of villages because of a want for water, especially in those areas. Kankuro believes he can find his father there."

"No, I only know that I can find his identity," Kankuro corrected Gaara, "Baki told me that it would be the only way to find him was if I knew his name, and in order to do that I have to find a nomad tribe by the name of Harbueki, which is where mom came from."

"Our mom was a nomad?" Temari asked.

"Ever wonder why she didn't have a birth certificate Temari?" Baki asked, "She wasn't born here and the Nomads don't record births in the same way we do. She came to the village for a reason, before you were even a thought."

The entire room was silent. In fact Baki thought that he probably herd a pin drop in the next room it was so quiet. "I think he should go," Temari said finally speaking up, "it's an odd situation but then again that's what makes it the most awkward."

"I just told two clients that Kankuro couldn't go on two missions," Gaara told them, "due to his emotional blow up, especially since we don't know who his real father is."

"If they ask say that Kankuro had another mission that he had to perform for the village," Baki told Gaara.

"A mission that is S rank information so that no one would try to pry the information out of you," Shikamaru chimed in.

"Gaara, I have to do this," Kankuro told him.

Gaara sat there for a couple of moments, "I'm not going to win this argument am I?"

"I don't think so," Baki stated.

"I can let you leave for six months Kankuro, no more. If you are gone for more than that time period and we don't have word, we'll have to assume that you are dead."

"I won't be gone that long, probably two months tops," Kankuro said grinning.

"When will you be leaving?" Gaara asked.

"I was going to go now," Kankuro told him.

"Then you'd better leave quickly if you want to be out of the village gates by dark."

"Then I'll see you guys later, I'll send word as soon as I can," Kankuro said before dashing out of the office.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

The Journey and Timing

Kankuro had been traveling for an unknown amount of hours. The sun was just starting to show itself over the sands. He instinctively put his arm over his eyes to stop the glare that he knew would eventually show itself. He would travel on till mid day before stopping for a brief amount of sleep. Kankuro knew that he would have to keep this pace up till he got to the nomad lands, no matter what.

Elsewhere….

"I'm waiting till he gets back," Temari announced to her brother and her previous sensei. "I want him to walk me down the aisle."

"You're going to wait at the most six months for your wedding Temari?" Gaara asked.

"He claimed he was going to get back here before, and you know Kankuro, it would have to be something big to hold him up. I can't remember the last time he returned late from a solo mission."

Gaara frowned. Temari was sure that Kankuro would return. Gaara was hoping that that would happen.

Baki looked at the two siblings before speaking, "Kankuro is going into a very dangerous area, and the people there are strange, it is possible that he may not return at all," '_a big possibility,'_ he told himself.

"Is that area really that dangerous Baki?" Gaara asked him. Gaara had never gone into that area for a mission. It was actually rare for a ninja to be sent to nomad territory. More rare then being called on a mission by name.

"Depends," Baki told him, "depends on the route he takes and the chances of him coming across other groups of nomads. The wrong group could cause an unprovoked attack."

"Unprovoked?" Gaara asked.

"Is he aware that that could happen?" Temari asked at the same time.

"No," Baki told them, "he doesn't know, but as a ninja he should be prepared."

"Why would he be attacked anyway Baki?" Gaara continued after Baki spoke. Baki turned away from Gaara. He could not answer that question not yet.

"Baki?" Temari prompted.

"I can't tell you, not yet," and with that Baki turned and left the room. Baki waited till he was out of ear shot before sprinting down the hallway. He had one place he needed to go, and he didn't want to be found.

Back in Gaara's office…

"He's hiding something," said Shikamaru finally speaking up.

Gaara stared at the door. Shikamaru was right, but whatever the secret was it was well hidden.

"Baki told us to never withhold information from our allies if we were on a mission," Temari mentioned, "So why is he hiding something now?"

"Do as I say not as I do," Shikamaru muttered, "He's hiding something when he would not want you to hide it."

"The question is why and what?" Gaara told him.

Shikamaru, out of habit, formed his thinking pose, "What do we know?"

"eh?" Temari said raising an eyebrow at her fiancé.

"Big secrets like this normally have a way of being figured out by subtle hints by the holder of the secret. So what do we know?" Shikamaru asked again.

"We know that our mom was married before she married our dad," Temari told him gesturing to her and Gaara.

"Kankuro doesn't share our dad and he's inked out on the birth certificate," Gaara said.

"And that mine and Gaara's dad had a fake one made so as to hide that he wasn't the father," Temari responded while counting off on her fingers.

"Baki obviously knows who he is," Gaara continued.

"But he's not going to tell us-"

"And he's sent Kankuro on some dangerous mission to find out who he is-"

"And…I think that's it…" Temari ended.

Shikmaru looked at them, "I have no idea what he may be hiding, but it must have something to do with the nomads. Do you guys have any information on them?"

"I'll have people check the records," Gaara told him.

Out in Suna…

He ran across the buildings at top speed. He'd gone through this path many times. After Gaara was born he'd worn this path to the point he was sure that another ninja would have figured it out by now. He was lucky no one had.

He didn't stop running till he got to an alley way. This place still sent chills down his spine when he came here. The same alley he and Yashamaru and sometimes Karura would meet his brother. The same alley way he stood in when Karura told his brother that she was pregnant with his child, and the same one that Yashamaru had decided that he was going to commit suicide.

He took a breath, and smelled the air. It was the same everywhere else in Suna, but to him it seemed, different. He had come here a lot since her Karura's death, more for his own need then her children needed him to.

He turned his back against the wall, and shut his eyes, trying to get out of his head how much he had to deceive his own brother's child.

"He told me I'd find you here, un," said a voice.

Baki snapped his eyes open, "You know you're not allowed here," he told the man who was now standing in the shadows.

"Neither was he," The younger man responded.

"That may be true, but you attacked Gaara," Baki told the man in the shadows, "Why would you be here anyway? I thought that Sasori had included you in a plan," he glanced over at the younger man.

"Actually several if you want to be specific," the man responded, "You don't seem to be doing your job very well anyway un. Danna's probably turning in his grave thinking about how little you have been able to help them. Especially when I _attacked_."

"Why are you here anyway?" Baki demanded.

"I am here to deliver his will. He made it shortly before the mission to come here. Oh, and to tell you that part of it releases you from your promise," the man told him, "So you can tell Kankuro all about him now. Especially since he's dead, un."

"He's already gone to find out, you're a little late in delivering your message," Baki told him.

"Un, bit hard when you 'work' for the organization I work for."

"I know," Baki told him, "but you should be leaving. Last thing we need is for any one to find out about this place."

"I'm all ready going old man," said the other man as he turned and started walking into deeper shadows, leaving a scroll on the ground.

Baki picked it up and tucked it away. He would wait for Kankuro before he would even glance at his brother's will.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

Searching

Gaara opened the doors to the very extensive Kazekage library, which was mostly used for show, considering that the village cared more about strength then history. "If there is any information on the nomads it would be here," Gaara told his sister and her fiancé.

"Where would we even start looking," Shikamru asked. The shelves were unmarked filled with books and scrolls on every inch. There were a number of tables made of wood and chairs covered with rich silks. The library was defiantly made to show off, not much of a place to study.

"That," Temari answered, "is a good question." She walked in and pulled a book off of one of the shelves in the middle of the room, "History of The Buildings of Suna," she mumbled, "nope," she said tossing a book on to one of the tables, "That is our nothing pile," she told the two guys standing in the door way.

Gaara went off to one area of the library and Shikamaru, being the person with the two hundred plus I.Q. went over to a group of previously unnoticed filing cabinets. He opened up the top of one of the cabinets. In there were of course folders, Shikamaru pulled one out the first one and flipped through the information in the first one. It was information on a team from Suna. It was old, so old that the pictures with the file were fading. Shikamaru put it back and picked up the next one. It was the same. An idea crossed his mind and he shut the drawer and went onto the next one. He went through it quickly checking every third one looking in the top corner of each paper.

Fifteen minutes later….

Shikamaru had found the folder he was looking for. Of course the folder had answered some questions but left some others unanswered. He walked back to the front of the library, where the nothing pile had expanded to cover two of the tables and Temari and Gaara each skimming thorough books in a much smaller pile, the books that showed promise.

"I found something," Shikamaru announced causing both of the siblings to look up at him. He opened the folder and handed the first sheet to Temari. "Notice anything?"

"This is Baki's team…someone is scribbled out," Temari answered.

Gaara snatched the piece of paper away from her and examined it, "Like the birth certificate," he muttered.

"I bet that the same teammate that is scribbled out and the father on Kankuro's birth certificate are the same guy," Shikamaru told them.

"That would explain why Baki knows who he is," Temari nodded, "But again the real question is who is he."

Shikamaru pulled out a bunch of other sheets, "These are mission and injury reports, we may be able to piece it together here," Shikamaru handed some to Temari and some to Gaara and left a few to himself.

Temari picked up the first one and exclaimed, "His name is gone from here too. There's no injury report for him either, as if he wasn't even on the mission."

Shikamaru frowned and looked through his mission report. It was a D ranked mission and he soon saw why Temari was suspicious about there being no injury report. There were three where there should have been four, each one listing no injuries brought about by mission in the sensei's handwriting.

Shikamaru's frowned deepened as Gaara told them that it was the same thing with the reports he was dealt. Shikmaru kept glancing through looking for a skipped cross out or some other clue.

Then just when he was about to toss them aside and start looking through the books, he saw something, in an injury report of Baki's.

_Poisoned, poisoning cured in the field by---------, poison was new and identified, see poison report number 8193. Complete recovery, no lasting effects discovered._

"Hey," Shikamaru exclaimed, "I found something. Where would the poison reports be?"

Gaara looked up, "In the medical reports building, why?"

Shikmaru smirked, "Who ever he was he was a poison expert," He told Gaara placing Baki's report in front of both of the sand siblings.

"Then we need to find this report," Temari said pointing to the number.

Shikamaru ripped a piece off of one of the D rank Injury reports and with a pen that Gaara had found sitting on a nearby table he quickly wrote the number down.

A little while later…

The two siblings and Shikamaru had left the library in a rush and were just now entering the medical records building. Anything medical was kept in here, out dated or not, most of the time edited to fit new discoveries. Gaara walked through the halls ahead of his sister and Shikamaru.

He'd only been in this building once, and that was when Kankuro was curious about the poison that Sasori had used on him. Gaara had gone with him because he had to admit it, Kankuro was probably the only one who had to keep studying to find better ways to kill people, and he killed people with more strategy then either him or his sister.

Gaara opened the door to the room with the poison reports. "Its somewhere in here," Gaara told them, "Older reports are on this side, newer ones on that side," he said gesturing with his hands, "What was the number of the poison report?"

"8193," Shikamaru told him reading it off of a scrap of paper in his hand.

"That would probably be somewhere in the middle," Gaara told them.

They split up in the middle, and the looking was faster this time due to the fact that not only was the room more organized, but they knew exactly what they were looking for.

"Found it," Temari told them as she held a folder above her head.

Gaara and Shikamaru easily navigated to her side as she opened up the folder.

_Medical Researcher: Akio Akihito_

_Supervising Medical Personal: Ami Akira_

_Assistant Medical Personal: Ayumu Chiya_

_Poison Personal: Puppet Master Genji Hama _

_Field agent: Puppet Apprentice Hayao Sasori_

The rest of the documents talked about what the poison did and how it spread and how to cure it. The last page was written entirely about how to use the poison effectively in battle, written by Sasori.

"It doesn't tell how the poison was discovered," Temari muttered.

"Yes, but these people probably have some memory of working on this case, and maybe they know who discovered the poison," Shikamaru answered.

"I have access to where these people live in Suna's Census Bureau," Gaara told them both.

"How troublesome why don't you guys keep things all in the same place?" Shikamaru whined.

Temari rolled eyes and quickly smacked her fiancé with her fan. "OW! What was that for?"

"Your laziness that's what it's for," She told him.

Elsewhere….

Kankuro had just pitched his tent. It was nearing midday. He decided to sleep during the hottest part of the day and continue when the cold of the night woke him. He stared in the direction that he was heading, before entering his tent and getting some much needed sleep.

Hours went by before Kankuro woke up. The sun was now behind him. He quickly packed his tent up, pulled out a ration bar, devouring it. He didn't have any time to waste.

"What do we have here?" a voice answered from behind him.

Kankuro turned his head around. A group of ten men were standing behind him. Obviously rouge ninja by the slashes through their headbands. Even though Kankuro was a Jonin he didn't like the odds of this. Three puppets, ten enemies, this was going to hold him up a considerable amount.

Still as silent he reached behind him and grabbed his puppet scrolls. He'd have to fight them, or better yet scare them and then continue his way to the nomad lands.

The men were standing there a weapon held at each ones side. "You don't want to mess with me, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," Kankuro told them holding his scrolls behind him.

The men roared with laughter. "You think a single man like your self can beat us?" the leader asked him carelessly swinging his katana from side to side.

Kankuro's eyes narrowed. He quickly summoned his puppets. The clacking of gears and a puff of smoke told him that they had arrived.

The laughter started again. None of these men could have come from the sand, nor, he believed that they could have defected from Konoha. Where ever they were from obviously did not put stress on how dangerous a puppeteer could be. If they had been from the sand or leaf he doubted that they would have reacted in this manner. "You really think that a single man like you can defeat all ten of us, especially with those _dolls_?"

Kankuro gritted his teeth as the laughter erupted again. He was definitely going to teach these guys a lesson.

He quickly begin moving his right pinky and ring finger. Crow, his puppet clacked and then, with no other warning swooped in at the men, firing poisoned smoke bombs.

The men were caught off guard but quickly hid there mouths and noses under their shirts hoping for some protection from the poisonous smoke. Kankuro took advantage of the opening by sending in ant as well, ant's few knives out. A gust came from Kankuro's right and quickly removed the smoke. Kankuro moved to bring ant and crow up higher so as to gain an advantage.

As Crow came up the man closest to him raised his sword and swung at crows head. To avoid and mechanisms from getting damaged, Kankuro swiftly took off Crows head and, its body still heading higher, quickly shot a kunai out of its mouth and killed the guy with a blow to the head. The other men were now heading straight for Kankuro. He quickly reined in his puppets and made them dive, weapons out, Crow's head still separated from his body.

Kankuro felt as if they were getting too close and, relinquishing some of the strings on ant and Crow quickly put up Salamander's shield as several Kunai came toward him. He quickly reattached Crow's head before causing it and Ant to dive once again into the group of men.

Kankuro heard the movement of sand beside him, and quickly turned, his left arm raised. The leader of the group brought down his sword right onto Kankuro's arm. Kankuro grunted from the pain as blood spattered out. Without even thinking he disassembled Crow and sent him toward the man. The man lifted his sword up for another blow, which never happened. Crow's poisoned needles had hit in several vital points, killing the man instantly.

Kankuro quickly disassembled and ant as well. Sending the both puppets parts' into the fray Kankuro quickly killed the remaining men.

Breathing heavily Kankuro put his puppets back together and sealed them within their scrolls. Then Kankuro took a look at his arm. It was bleeding pretty bad there was a small pool on the sand from it. Kankuro frowned. There was a black substance on either side of the cut. Kankuro put his fingers into it and sniffed. The odor was not one that he knew, but he could tell that it had to be some sort of poison. Kankuro bit his lip. He would have to be careful of moving for he did not know this poison, nor did he know how much was in his system.

Kankuro carefully lifted some sand and rubbed it on the skin where the poison was. The sand mopping up the poison was quickly brushed off. There, where the poison had been were burn marks. Suddenly Kankuro was aware of the cut, which had been painful a little while ago, felt cold. Kankuro touched the flesh with his other hand, and it was burning up, as if he had a fever.

Kankuro knew that there was only one thing he could do if he was to hope to survive. He opened his pack and quickly looted through the contents. He pulled out a small silver colored tin and quickly opened it. In it were some green pills. Kankuro had made them from plants that were used frequently in antidotes. Kankuro had to slow down the poison in his system and since he did not know the poison he could not make an antidote for it.

Kankuro swallowed two of the pills. His body was feeling colder and colder. The air around the desert was also cooling as the sun began its descent. Kankuro grabbed his tent and pulled the cloth over him. He started to shiver. _'I've got to build up body heat.' _Kankuro thought as he reached back toward his pack and pulled out a small lamp. Quickly lighting it with a match he hid it with him underneath the tent canvas, careful not to let the cloth touch the flame.

The lamp let out more light then it did heat, but the canvas trapped the heat inside and very slowly the canvas began to warm. Kankuro however did not feel the change in temperature and slowly blacked out from the poisons effect.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Nomad Grandma

Kankuro awoke. He struggled to open his eyes which felt heavy. Kankuro did not awake on sand as he would have expected, but on a soft brown mat. Above him was a ceiling of brown cloth that was attached to some wooden poles he saw to his side. He attempted to sit up only to find his body too heavy to lift.

A grunt escaped his lips as he once again attempted to sit up. "So you're finally awake?" The speaker was a girl, about his age maybe a year younger wearing orange paint on her eyelids, lips, nose and big circles on her cheeks. Her accent was strange, with the vowels having more stress the he normally would have placed on them.

She put her hand to Kankuro's head, "Your fever's broken, and I'll have to tell the healers that. Are you thirsty?"

Kankruo hadn't noticed before but he was parched, the back of his throat hurt and his mouth was very dry. He started to tell her yes but all that came out was a croak. She blinked in surprise before another voice, much older, was heard, "Anokhi, the healers are wanting to know how your charge is doing. Has he awoken?"

"Yes, Mitsu Oringa, he as awoken. His fever had broken, though he still lacks strength." Kankuro saw her better now that she had turned to answer the other person. She had blond hair done in a thick braid to the middle of her shoulders. She wore a brown shirt with short sleeves that were loose and that stopped in the middle of her stomach.

"Good," The older voice said, "The healers have another round of herbs he should be fed."

"I will be right there to get them Mitsu Oringa," She said before rising and moving toward the other voice.

When she came back she reached her hand under him, "You'll have to sit up to drink," she told him, "don't worry, I'll help."

She pushed him up and put a water skin to his lips. Kankuro started to guzzle the liquid. It took him a few moments to realize that it wasn't water. It was some type of juice drink. He spat it out.

The girl pulled the water skin away looking surprised. "Water," Kankuro told her.

She shook her head, "Water is hard to come by, it must not be used wastefully."

"Water flushes out poison, I must be given water to recover," Kankuro told her.

"Water may flush out poison, but this neutralizes most poisons, and repairs damage," the girl told him, "It is the juice from the fruit of the white cactus. Everyone drinks it," She told him moving the water skin closer to Kankuro.

He frowned before giving in to his thirst, he drank from the skin. Kankuro had never tasted a drink like this before. It was sweet but also had a tang to it. It was a little while later before she pulled the skin away from him. "You have to take your medicine now, the healers wouldn't want you to skip a feeding," she said putting a small spoon into a bag that had been brought and brought a spoonful to his lips.

Kankuro opened his mouth, and she dumped the herbs in. Kankuro was instantly assaulted by the strong flavor of the herbs. He swallowed several times to get the herbs and taste out of his mouth. He again found the water skin on his lips. He drank quickly. The taste of the juice quickly washed out the bitter herb flavor.

Again the girl pulled the skin away, "What is your name?"

"My name is Kankuro," he told her.

"My name is Anokhi, daughter of parents not from the dessert and sister to Nicero. Have you no family?"

"I have family," Kankuro told her.

"Who are they? It is impolite here to introducing oneself without telling the immediate family," She told him.

"I am the son of Karura, and brother of Temari and Gaara."

Her eyes widened. Kankuro frowned. She seemed to be surprised all too easily. Anokhi rushed out of the place he was in, making him fall back onto the mat. Kankuro winced. He hated being helpless and obviously at this moment, he was.

Back in Suna…..

Temari sighed out of frustration. The people who were on the report had either died, or been moved to one of the strong holds in the desert. One dead end after another. Well not everything was a dead end she thought to herself suddenly. She knew two people who would know, and if one wouldn't tell her, perhaps the other would.

Temari quickly dove back into the piles of papers on her desk, finally coming across a paper with the name Masimi Kazuko. Temari smirked. Kazuko lived inside the village. Temari would find who Kankuro's father was.

Temari, after quickly writing a note to Gaara, ran out of the office, paper in hand, down the hallway and two flights of stairs till she finally came to the door and out into the desert sun. It was cooling down now, something Temari was grateful for as she sprinted down the streets of Suna.

Suna may have been old, and its streets may have twists and turns in them like a forest stream, and as cross woven as a spider web, but Temari, having grown up here could not get lost. She knew exactly where she was headed. She stopped running when she had reached the street. Glancing at the numbers on the houses she started moving quickly, though not running, through the street. It wasn't long before she found the women's house.

She walked up to the small porch in front and knocked on the door. In a few minutes it opened to reveal a woman with brown hair and brown eyes. She looked like any Suna citizen, tanned from the sun, and slightly stocky so as to ward off the cold that came during the desert nights. There was something else. The averagely Suna citizen normally did not care about ninjas, all they cared about was bloodlines. From what Temari could tell this woman was not from any important bloodlines and there for have no reason to be suspicious of her, but she had suspicion in her eyes. "What service could I be to you?" The women asked holding her gaze steady.

"I am looking for a woman named Masimi Kazuko," Temari told her.

"I might be Masimi Kazuko if you have the right address," The woman said.

Temari glances at the paper in her hand, and then looks at the woman, "This is the right address, are you Masimi Kazuko or not?"

"Well," thinks for a minute," yes I guess I am! Are you here for poker?" asked Kazuko.

"No, I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me," Temari said slowly.

"Ask me questions? Are you from the police? I am a medic. I know nothing you want to know," Kazuko told her starting to shut the door, then hesitated and asked, "What do you want to know?"

Temari looked at her, "I'm looking for information about a certain person."

"Oh? And you having nothing better to do then question a doctor about her clients? I will give you no such information you palefaced-skinnybut-dramaqueen-kunochi." Kazuko turned around starting to close the door again.

"The questions I have to ask you are about your past," Temari told her, "I need to know them."

Kazuko stopped trying to close the door. "Need or want question is?"

"Huh?" Temari asked caught off guard by Kazuko's sudden change in behavior.

Kazuko blinked before saying, in a Yoda like fashion, "Need or want question is?"

"Again, Huh?" Temari responded.

"I asked 'need or want?' Do you absolutely have to know, or is there something that you want to know and would do anything to get it? Or… Or is it to sell to international pirates who love cookies?! Or maybe you're a spy!" Kazuko responded.

"More of a want, but it is something I have to know," Temari told her. _"Note to self, tell Gaara to never let her be my doctor."_

"Hmmmm, quick question are you a spy?" Kazuko asked.

"No I am not a spy." Temari responded.

"Hmmmm," Kazuko mused as she tapped her chin, and then glanced over Temari's sholder before responding, "Alright you may come in." Kazuko turned leaving the door open for Temari to follow. Temari took a step in and shut the door. The woman's house was cluttered, with odd trinkets and ninja weapons. The last one made no sense to Temari, wasn't this woman retired from ninja work?

"This way," Kazuko sang. Temari walked toward the sound of her voice, moving slowly, through the house so as not to disturb anything. She came into a small room, with two chairs, a table between them. Kazuko was already sitting in one of the chairs, "Don't stand there, sit down you'll be more com-fert-able thata way," she told her gesturing towards the other chair.

Temari sat down as Kazuko started to speak again, "Now what is it that you want to know little girl? You may tell me as I get ready for poker," She says as she stands up and pulls out a drawer from a dresser near by.

"I want to know about your team mates," Temari told her. _"I am not little, I'm engaged for cripes sake, this woman is nuts!"_

Kazuko's face broke into a smile, "I have already said everything, and whatever investigation you may be doing I don't want to part of it. I will not have my words twisted just so that Baki gets thrown out as well. Or is it the other guy? I don't quite remember." Kazuko then pulled out a pair of long underwear and puts it on.

"I'm not looking to get him thrown out, Baki's my sensei," Temari told her, "I want to know more about his past. He seems harsh sometimes and like a father the rest of time."_ "Why did I come here anyway? This woman can't remember anything and she's a nutjob!"_ "Why are you-"

"For poker! Geez a woman can't play strip poker?" Kazuko half shouted as she dawned on a bad looking sweater.

Temari sat back in her chair. It would be a long conversation.

Days Later….

Kankuro was sitting up in the wagon. He had discovered what it was when Anokhi had explained where he was. Kankuro couldn't help but laugh at his luck, saved by the nomads he'd gone to find. He hadn't asked Anokhi anything about his father, but she seemed to young to know.

"Kankuro, you should not be sitting up. Healer Takeshi said you should take it easy," Kankuro glanced at her with a frown. He'd gotten bored laying on his back all day and had taken Crow out for basic maintenance.

"I have to work on my puppets," he told her as she made her way over to him.

"Puppets? I was under the impression that you were a ninja, considering your weaponry," she told him.

"What do you know about ninja?" Kankuro asked her as he took out a gear from Crows head and examined it.

"They are fast, and strong, but do not attack in groups. There fighting is limited to trickery and not the better fighter. That's what the elders say. Some claimed that they have fought ninja before."

Kankuro put the gear back into Crows head, "Yes ninja's use tricks, but some of us use weapons that are in themselves a trick. I'm a puppeteer, and these puppets are my weapons. They require more training to use but they work all the same."

"Puppets?" Kankuro and Anokhi looked up to see an old woman pulling herself into the wagon. Her face was white, with green paint all around her eyes like a mask and several interconnect rings, "What is this about puppets?"

"Mitsu Oringa, Kankuro uses puppets for his ninja work," Anokhi told her.

"Ahh," the old woman responded, before wandering over. "I don't think we have been introduced yet. I am Mitsu Oringa, and my family is to far gone to mention."

Kankuro nodded before speaking, "I am Kankuro, son of Karura and brother of Temari and Gaara."

Mitsu Oringa narrowed her eyes, "Gaara as in the Kazekage?"

"How do you know about that?" Kankuro asked.

"We may wander but that doesn't mean that we don't stop in towns from time to time. Now are you or are you not?" she asked.

"I am," Kankuro told her.

"Who is your father Kankuro, I don't remember you mentioning him."

"I don't know. People told me that I was the son of the fourth Kazekage but it was a lie."

Mitsu Oringa put her hand to her mouth and closed her eyes. "When one is lost, he returns to his roots," she said under her breath. She opened her eyes and moved her hand to rest on Kankuro's. "Kankuro, my daughter was Karura. I am your Grandmother."

**Merry Christmas! This chappy is devoted to two of my moste devoted readers, The Randomness and Lonzine**

**Also for the best beta in the world Storymaster Caith, who has done her best despite her busy scheduale to help check for oocness  
**


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8

The Witch, The Small Truth, and The Memories

Gaara sat at his desk, paperwork half finished in front of him; It would have been finished had not an unwelcome interruption accrued. A woman with long blonde hair, done in an elaborate braided bun, with icy blue eyes, a red kimono, and a black fan covering her scowl stood in front of him.

Gaara slid the paperwork off to one side, "What do you need Kimiya?"

Kimiya snapped her fan shut, "I was quite surprised that you did not send the ninja I requested. I demand an explanation," she demanded doing little to hide the venom in her voice.

"We had a mission of higher importance that required his skill," Gaara told her in a level voice.

"Really?" she asked, "More important than a mission for the dominyo?"

"It was a question of village safety," Gaara responded.

"Oh? And no other puppeteer could handle it?" Kimiya retorted.

"The mission is S-rank classification," Gaara stated.

"So was mine, Kazekage, so was mine. So I expected to get what I was paying for," She remarked.

"We will pay you what is due, no more no less," Gaara told her, "That should heal your money woes."

"That would be nice though it does not seem to help heal the insult you gave me," she stated, moving toward the window, fan in front of her face again.

"I was not aware of an insult," Gaara said as he watched her.

"Yet unintentional insults happen all the time," She stated wistfully before turning around, "I know," She said snapping her fan shut, "a compromise, I'll let go of all these claims if your sister marries Shoushun. She should be settling down and my son would be a wonderful husband."

Gaara stared at her his eyes narrowing, "Absolutely not."

"Why not? My household is-"she started.

"For two reasons," Gaara interrupted, "One I do not believe in forcing someone to marry against their will and two," just then the door opened to reveal Shikamaru, "and I believe this meeting is over."

Kimiya turned toward the door and then back to Gaara, "You're ending the meeting to talk with an enemy ninja?" she spat.

"No, I'm breaking the meeting to talk with an ally who is also my sister's fiancé," Gaara responded.

Kimyah looked taken aback for a split second before she turned and stormed out of the room, bumping Shikamaru with her shoulder.

"What was that about?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just me getting my head bitten off because Kankuro's not here and people want him for missions," Gaara responded.

"That sounds troublesome," Shikamaru replied.

Gaara nodded, "And that woman, Kimiya, a head of a prestigious clan just tried to get me to make a political engagement between her son and my sister."

"What?" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"I told her no, you have nothing to worry about, unless she's pissed," Gaara mentioned.

"What happens if she's pissed?" Shikamaru asked.

"Assassins…now that I think about it I should probably assign someone to wander the village with you. I really don't want you to die on me," Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Then I wouldn't be able to avoid political people," Gaara stated.

Meanwhile…

"You're my Grandmother?" Kankuro asked Mitsu Oringa.

"Yes, I've waited a long time to meet you Kankuro. I've wondered who you take after," she said, "especially since I never saw my daughter nor my son after they left."

"They are both dead," Kankuro told her.

She nodded, "Your father told me."

"Who is my father?" He asked.

"Your father, why my husband didn't want to accept him. But he proved to be special. I couldn't ask for a better son-in-law."

"But who was he?"

"His name, was Sasori. In fact," she stated running a finger over crows arm, "he also used puppetry," she then glanced at Kankuro, "Is something wrong?" she asked seeing the shock in his eyes.

"No," he whispered shaking his head.

"Hmm?"

"No, he can't be may father. He tried to kill me, and he was part of the organization that wanted to kill Gaara," Kankuro told them

"Why would Sasori want to kill you?" Anokhi asked.

"Sasori didn't want to kill him," Mitsu Oringa said, "He took some poison and some antidote, and said he was going to make sure that in doing what he had to do, that he wouldn't kill you.

"Sasori was going to deliver the antidote to his brother, so if you or Temari got hit you could be healed," Mitsu Oringa said, "The antidote was a very concentrated dose, and could have saved you before you only held on by a thread."

"But why would he want to kill Gaara? Why would he not want to kill Temari? Who was his brother? Why didn't he tell me? Why-"Kankuro stammered.

"Hush," Mitsu Oringa said interrupting him, "If you give me a chance I will answer your questions. He did not want to kill Gaara, his plan was to activate a jutsu so that what ever they were putting the demons in would break, and then the demons would break, and then the demons would return to their vessels, or to places where they could live. The jutsu was supposed to look like they'd killed him. Second, Sasori would have never willingly hurt Karura, or her children. He loved her that much.

"As for Sasori's brother, his name was Baki."

"Baki was my sensei. He knew the entire time, and he never told me," Kankuro said levelly, however noting how angry he felt remembering that Baki wouldn't tell him who his father was.

"Baki taught you? I wonder-It doesn't matter, what matters is that you're here, and we don't be having this struggle a while longer," Mitsu Oringa stated.

"Struggle?" Kankuro asked.

"In our tribe our leadership is passed father to son or father-in-law to son-in-law. Sasori was our chief, though he was absent most of the time. Now that he's dead it would fall to you."

"I'm chief?" Kankuro asked.

"No, you'd have to have your coming of age ceremony, and before that you would have to learn the way of the spear," She told him.

"I have duties in Suna, I can't just leave for," he made a sweeping gesture with his hand, " this. This way of life, I've got to get home. Temari's getting married, Gaara's probably having elder issues, I have to get home!"

"Kankuro…please at least learn before you decide. We've been putting off appointing another family because I knew you were alive. I have been making the decisions, and a few have already been calling for another family to take over as chiefs, and I fear that we will stop being the people we are if we go that route. The family at the top wishes to attack all the other tribes, for no other reason then they love war."

Kankuro frowned. It sounded too much like Gaara's situation with the elders. "I'll learn, but I may not become you chief."

"That's all I ask," Mitsu Oringa replied.

Meanwhile…

Baki took a glance around at the academy students playing in the yard below where he was sitting. Baki had found that by finding new haunts was the way to avoid questions from Gaara and Temari.

He took another look at the students. He remembered being that age, when the most important thing was to graduate. When it seemed life's problems would be solved when you became a ninja.

_Flashback…_

_A red haired kid got shoved to the ground, "Why don't you fight back pipsqueak?"_

_The kid stood up, "Give it back it's mine!" he demanded lunging for the puppet in the bigger boys hand. The boy was a head taller than the red head, with a black mop of hair on his head. His two friends had shorter cropped brown hair. _

_The one with black hair moved the puppet up higher, "What this lame thing?"_

"_Yes," the red haired kid said, "it's mine and it's not lame!" He lunged for it only to have the other tow boys grab his arms, and the black haired boy punched him in the gut. _

"_What are you doing?" the three boys turned to find a red haired boy the same size as them staring at the situation._

"_None of your business Baki!" The mop haired kid yelled. Baki glanced at the toy puppet, then back at the mop headed boy._

"_I don't think that belongs to you," he stated, "and I don't think you should be beating up my brother," He then lunged himself at the mop haired boy tackling him to the ground causing the puppet to go flying._

_End Flashback…_

Baki sighed. Sasori had always gotten into trouble as a young kid, just because he was smaller and took interest in an art that most people didn't understand. He'd always had to bail him out, but that changed after they'd become ninjas.

Elsewhere

Deidara stood staring at a plot of ground. Nothing was really special about it, except that a stone lay on it with words carved into the stone. "Deidara? Is that you?"

Deidara turned to see a woman with black hair braided down her back staring at him. "Yeah, un. I don't have much time. Is my Ma around?"

"Yes, she's in the house," the girl told him as she looked over her shoulder.

"How've you been?" Deidara asked her.

"I've been fine," she said before throwing her arms around him, "I've missed you so much, Deidara."

Deidara wrapped his arms around her losing himself briefly in her scent, a mixture of herbs and honey filled his nose, before pushing her away, "Midori, we can't. I've told you before. We just can't."

Midori folded her arms, and stared at him for awile before sighing, "I don't care that your always gone, I don't care that you're an S-rank criminal, if I'd cared about that I would never have asked your mom to teach me her skills."

"But I care, un," Deidara stated, "and I can't lose risking you or any one else."

"So he's really gone?"

Deidara nodded.

"Midori! You're late with the herbs why are you…" a blonde woman had just come out of the house behind Midori, she wore her hair in a bun, "Deidara is that you?"

"Hey Ma," Deidara called waving his hand.

The blond woman crossed the rest of the way with surprising speed before coming close to them. "To what do we owe this surprise? Last I saw you you were just here for herbs."

"He's dead," Deidara told her.

"Sasori?"

"Yeah, un."

"I remember him well, I was so surprised when he took you under his wing to protect you," Deidara's mom told him.

"I do too, Ma, I do too."

**Here it is people! sorry it took so long I hate viruses. Anyhoo, like it? hate it? flame it? (note flames will be thrown into a pit and I will roast marzmallows on them) tell me about it! I'll be updating Blind Truth later(fianally) so stay tuned loayl readers**


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

Taking a new step

Deidara picked up the cup in front of him. His mother was anxious to know what had happened during the last several months since they had seen him. He took a sip of the tea, before he started his story.

"Sasori knew the risks, and we had no choice," Deidara stated.

_Flashback…_

_Sasori clacked absentmindedly while Deidara studied the map, "You're a good actor kid," Sasori told him. _

"_I learned from the best Dana," he'd responded._

"_This mission carries the biggest risk. If this is successful, we'll never have to run," Sasori told him. _

"_Not possible," Deidara told him, "If it had been I'd have stayed with my Ma."_

_Sasori stayed silent for a while then, "I have a favor to ask."_

_Deidara looked at him, his blue eyes meeting Sasori's eyes. Sasori rarely asked anything of Deidara. Sasori told him what had to be done and he obeyed. Simple as that. Deidara needed him as much as Sasori needed him._

"_A favor Dana?" Deidara asked._

"_Aye," Sasori claked several more times before pulling a scroll out from the inside of his coat, and handed it to Deidara, "Its my will. If I die on this mission I need you to make sure that Baki gets this."_

"_Your brother," Deidara said examining the scroll._

"_Yes," Sasori told him._

"_I'll do it," he said pocketing the scroll._

_Scene change…_

_Deidara was flying away on a bird, the Kazekage rapped in the clay animals tail feathers._

"_You're on unlucky guy," he muttered under his breath, "Master Sasori is the worst possible opponent for you. "_

_Deidara glanced at the knocked out Kazekage, "then again you're the worst opponent for him too."_

_Scene change…_

"_Tobi's a good boy! Deidara Sempi wait up!" a man with a bright orange mask with one eye hole in it called after Deidara. _

_Deidara had had enough, "Tobi!"_

"_Yes, Deidara Sempi?"_

"_If you don't turn around and head back by the time I count to three," Deidara whipped around, "I'll blow you and your stupid mask to kingdom come!"_

_Tobi froze, "Not the mask!" Then Tobi turned and hightailed it out of there like only a ninja can._

"_Hmh…" Deidara grunted before he continued walking towards home._

_End Flashbacks… _

"So now I'm here, and Dana's dead," Deidara told both women sitting across from him.

"Just like that?" Midori asked.

Deidara nodded. "I'm so sorry Deidara," his mom told him as she reached across to pat Deidara's hand.

"Right now," Deidara told her, "all I need is some R and R."

"How long are you staying," Midori asked.

"A week, that's the longest I can stay away," Deidara said as he took one last gulp of his tea.

Deidara stood, "I need some air…"

Some time later…

"How much longer are you going to stay out here Deidara?" Midori asked Deidara.

"Don't know," he said shrugging, "until I know why he had to go."

"It's not healthy," Midori told him walking toward him.

"Hm… Life's not healthy," Deidara responded, "If it was we wouldn't die, un." He laid back on the rock.

Midori came and sat next to him, "It's the universal flaw of the human race; no one wants to really die, so instead of embracing it we turn it evil."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better, un?"

Midori shrugged, "I don't know, you tell me."

Deidara glanced over at her, "Nope, not one bit. It wasn't Dana's time."

"How did he go?" Midori asked. Deidara stayed silent. "Deidara?"

"His grandmother killed him," Deidara responded, "With the help of a pink-haired medic from Konoha."

"I thought his grandmother loved him." Midori stated.

"She loved the village more," Deidara stated.

It was silent for a few moments. "He wouldn't want you to be sad."

"Dana wanted a lot of things, "Deidara told her.

"Like Karura," Midori said.

"He had her until the son of a bitch stole her," Deidara said.

"Deidara?" Midori asked.

"Hmmm…"

"What is it that you want?" Midori asked.

"Midori," he moaned, "it doesn't matter what I want, and"he sat up, "what matters is that I finish the job."

"Deidara-"

"No I'm serious!" He turned toward her, "All I wanted was to be a ninja and I got it, but I also got these," he said showing her his palms, "I'm not normal. I'm dangerous, and I will do what I can to see that Dana's work is done. That's all I can do," he said panting after his out burst.

Midori stared at Deidara's palms, "Deidara," she started meeting his gaze, "you're not dangerous to your friends, and these don't make a difference to people who know you. Like Sasori-"

"Took me with him, "Deidara said.

Midori, "And your mom."

"Ma is Ma. She loves everyone."

"And me," Midori finished.

"You're her apprentice," Deidara stated, "That just means you aren't scared," he said putting his hands in his pockets.

"No," She said, "I wasn't scared then," She leaned close to him, "and I'm not scared now," she then kissed him.

Deidara the S-class criminal who loved to blow up stuff, was taken completely by surprise. Her smell, of herbs and of her fragrances that she used every day, flooded his nose. His eyes had, on instinct closed. She bit his lower lip, and he paused her away, "Midori," he growled holding her by the shoulders, "what was that?"

Midori's brow furrowed, "It was a kiss."

"I know that."

"Then why don't you ask what you mean?" Deidara opened his mouth to speak but Midori was on a role, "I know exactly what you're thinking and I don't fucking care Deidara! Damn it I love you!"

There was a pause, then Midori started again, " I got an offer to work at Konoha's hospital. The only thing keeping me here is you," She looked at him.

There was more silence, then, "Midori I had-" Deidara started.

"Look this is dumb, I've got to go pack," Midori said as she started to get up.

"Midori, wait," Diedara said grabbing her arm.

"Let go Deidara," she said as she tried to get out of his grip.

"Not until you listen to me," Deidara stated pulling her back onto the rock, "I don't want to lose you, un" he said taking her other hand, "I've already lost Dana, don't make me lose you too."

"Deidara," Midori stated, "how can I stay here if you're here. A person can only take so much and I'm tired of loving you and not being loved back. The best remedy for that kind of thing is to get away from it."

"Is that what you think? Do you think that all this," he gestured with is hand, "is because I don't love you. Geez, Midori I just don't want to lose you. It's not me I'm afraid that will hurt you. It's the hunter nins, those in the Akatsuki, everyone. If they knew you would be kidnapped, hurt, I can't stand that." He shook his head as he looked down.

"Deidara," she said moving his head up with his hand, "they can already do that. We already are connected, and you can't remove that. My choice before me is working at the best hospital, and being away from you, or being with you. I chose to be with you, unless you won't let me."

"Then I guess you leave me with no choice," Deidara sighed before leaning over and kissing her.

Several days later in the Land of Wind…

A huge bonfire was crackling merrily though the air rang with tension. Mitsu Oringa stood up and began to address the tribe, "The moment has come…I will not hand the titles over to another family yet…The son of Sasori The Red Scorpion, and on of Karura The Blue Moth is now in our presence." There were gasps and whispers, Kankuro glanced at his grandmother.

"I now tell you what I know… he is just now old enough to be called a man by our laws; however like his father before him he does not know our ways."

"Then why should he lead us?" Questioned a burly man who stood allowing his muscular body to be displayed in the firelight, his face had red markings like stripes across his nose, and dashes all around his cheeks. On top of that his face was white though his body was tan, "You said he knows nothing of our laws. I say that your family should stand down."

There was silence. Kankuro could tell that this argument had happened multiple times, and in politics he knew that the best way to beat the repeating argument was to do something unexpected. He stood up and stepped into the light of the fire, "I am willing, like my father before me, to learn the way of the spear, and if I do not think that I can do the duties that you wish of me and do the duties that I have back in Suna," the man across from Kankuro made and odd gesture with his arm, kind of like casting something off, "Then I will not stay as chief but pick someone who represents your way of life and who'll be a wise leader."

Other than some small gasps, there was no noise. The bigger man narrowed his eyes at Kankuro. Kankuro did not know how long they stood there glaring but finally the man turned and stormed off, leading a woman and a few young men and women with him. "You should not have done that," Mitsu Oringa whispered into his ear as she placed a hand on his shoulder, you aren't an adult in this society and you had no right."

"I had every right," Kankuro said, "he judged me before looking at me. A dangerous mistake," and with that said Kankuro differed to Mitsu Oringa and he sat back down.

"I called you here to also ask who would be willing to train him as a warrior," Mitsu Oringa stated.

There was a pause, and then, "You should not have to ask," a man stated as he stepped forward. He was skinnier than the other man, and wore his hair in a top knot, which was black with gray at the temples. His face paint was sky blue, covering his lips and eyes but leaving the rest of his face white. "I trained with Sasori, Mitsu Oringa. It would be an honor to train his son."

Mitsu Oringa nodded, "I would feel honored for you to teach my grandson, Dhiren."

"Then it is settled, make sure that your son is ready before the sun rises. There is much to be done," and with that Dhiren turned and exited the firelight.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch.10

Sands of Time

Before Kankuro knew it he had spent a month with the nomad tribe. Training filled his morning hours, and tradition the rest. He only had an hour that was to himself every day which he spent with his puppets.

"You've done well for someone who is not raised here," Dhiren stated as Kankuro knocked a man to the ground with the spear he held, "I've never seen a battle be won so fast by someone who has had little time with the spear."

Kankuro turned to him, "I'm not most men. I lived in fear far to long to not learn how to fight back."

"Fear of the th'blan'ka?" Dhiren asked. Th'blan'ka was a name given to a man that forced a woman to marry him and bear his children, after a demon from their legends that used to do that to women who he liked 'til a famous chief tricked him into a water barrel and drowned him.

Kankuro shook his head, "I wasn't allowed to strike him at all."

"Then why learn to fight?"

Kankuro stayed silent. He would not tell Dhiren that he was afraid of Gaara. He still didn't get it, but something told him that it would not have been good. Dhiren narrowed his eyes but turned toward the man on the ground.

"Get up, he didn't hurt you that bad," to Kankuro he said, "your form could use a little work, go through some of the stances again."

Kankuro nodded, and pointed his spear in front of him, half-spun it with one hand and wave it across his body to start the exercises that he'd learned the first day here.

Elsewhere

Temari walked into Kazuko's house. She didn't know why, but after the first meeting Temari had started coming every day. Kazuko was crazy true, but she'd heard people swear by her 'miracle cures' and, in an odd way, was a sort of comfort for her.

"Hope you're ready to strip because we're playing poker!" Kazuko called out. Temari sweat dropped she tried to avoid coming here when it was poker time. Kazuko would insist she'd play and Temari would have to keep saying no.

"Kazuko this is the last hand and we're already half-way through," a brown haired man stated. Temari quickly averted her eyes, not that the people who Kazuko played with were bad looking, just these guys were old enough to be her father.

"You want to play?" she said holding her hand toward Temari.

"No, thank you, I don't play poker as I've said before Kazuko," Temari stated still keeping her eyes averted.

"Awww, you don't know what your missing. It's better than stripper night I can tell you that much. A guy in green spandex shows up for that one," Kazuko said.

Temari's eye twitched as a spark of realization hits her. That was the last thing she wanted to think about. "It's even scarier when he brings his mini me named Lee."

Temari shuddered, "I can come back later Kazuko, I just wanted to ask you some questions."

One of the guys then shouted, "I win! You can strip down to your-"

Temari knew what was about to happen so she smacked both guys and threw them and their cloths out to the street. "Well that's not very nice," Kazuko started, "You forgot to give them their iced tea," she grabbed a pitcher and pours it out the window onto the guy's cloths.

"THANKS A FRICKEN LOT KAZUKO!"

"You're Welcome," she sang before shutting the window. "Now what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"I wanted to know if you knew any funny stories about Baki and your other team mate."

"Did I ever tell you about the time I dyed their red hair pink?"

"No," Temari said trying to imagine Baki with pink hair.

"It all started with Baki complaining that he looked like his brother, my other team mate…hmmmm…what was his name…"Kazuko started scratching the back of her head.

"Wait…Baki had a brother?" Temari asked.

"Oh yes, they were twins," Kazuko smiled.

Temari's eyes widened, maybe she'd really make some headway today. "Anyway it didn't just stop there; I poured it on the puppets too. They were my little pony pink for a week."

Temari burst out laughing; she was definitely going to store that away for future black mail.

Elsewhere…

Deidara had been hoping for a quiet evening in the Akutsuki base, he'd even sent Tobi out 'snipe hunting' to get some peace and quiet. Apparently things weren't going as well as he'd planned. Itachi stood in the doorway of his room.

"You were away a while," the Uchiha stated in a monotone.

Deidara continued mixing clay, "A week. How long are you away on your missions or private excursions Itachi, two weeks, three?"

"I don't go back to my home," Itachi stated.

Deidara froze. He'd been discovered, his mom, Midori, all that he and Sasori worked for. It was all in danger.

"What I can't go say hi to my mom?" Deidara said as he separated some clay into his hand. If the Uchiha attacked he was prepared.

"To go mourn a partner? A little suspicious don't you think?" Itachi stated.

"I don't answer to you," Deidara told him.

"No," Itachi said, "I guess you don't. You answer to Sasori don't you?"

"Sasori's dead, un," Deidara spat back.

"But you still answer to him," Itachi said, "there is no room in the Akatsuki for divided loyalties," He said reaching into his pocket.

"My loyalties are not…divided…"Deidara stated the last word where he had yelled the first. In Itachi's hand was a head band, a leaf head band with no mark through it.

"Surprised?" Itachi asked, "It was my duty to protect the village. This head band is mine. The one I wear," Itachi told him, "Is my dads."

**Sorry for waiting so long, band, parents being layed off and other things kept me tied up. **


	11. Chapter 11

Ch. 11

Shifts in the sand

It had been just yesterday that he'd viewed Itachi as an enemy, but now, now Deidara looked at him as an ally. The black haired man was talking to his partner, about how to catch the nine-tailed-fox, but Deidara knew the truth. Itachi wanted to keep the kid as safe as he could.

While Deidara kept his eye on Suna, Itachi likewise watched Konoha, if only because his brother, or in Deidara's case Sasori's son, remained. It made for an unlikely pair to be allied, but it would be harder for someone to discover.

Itachi was walking away from Kisame now, Deidara smirked. Kisame was loyal to the akatsuki through and through. Deidara didn't admire the Uchiha for the partner he had to deal with. Deidara knew that when the time came either he or Itachi would have to kill him.

In Suna…

Temari walked into Kazuko's house like she did everyday, but was surprised to see that all the lights were turned off. There was no sound either. Temari flipped a light switch and found that the light wouldn't turn on. "Did she forget to pay the electric bill?" Temari wondered allowed before calling out, "Kazuko where are you?"

"Bloody Hell," Kazuko moaned from her bedroom. Temari hurried to the room and found that in the middle of the room on a purple cushion, and two dolls on similar purple cushions. The room was lit with dark purple candles.

"Kazuko, you okay?" Temari asked kneeling beside Kazuko. Temari noticed that Kazuko since the first time since she met her that she was wearing makeup. Her face was white and her lips were blackish-blue, and she wore skull earrings. "Kazuko?"

Kazuko sits there silently, as if about to cry. "Kazuko look I brought muffins. Here's a blueberry one," Temari tells her fishing a blueberry muffin out of her pack. Kazuko sits motionless staring at one of the candles. "Come on," Temari said poking Kazuko's mouth with the muffin.

Kazuko continued to sit there so Temari set the muffin down on the floor, "Kazuko are you irregular again?" she asked taking out a bran muffin and holding it out to her. Kazuko takes a kunai out of her sleeve and stabs the muffin then goes back to her original position.

"Okay then," Temari stated as she set the muffin down against the blueberry one, "How about banana nut?" She puts it in front of Kazuko again.

Kazuko turns and gives Temari a mean glare and then goes back to her previous position. Temari sweat drops and sets the banana nut muffin down, "How about strawberry?" Kazuko didn't move, "Cherry?...come on Kazuko at least react to the ramen flavored muffin."

Kazuko scratched her butt, and Temari drastically drops her head, "This is the last one, and its cream filled," Temari says holding the last muffin out to Kazuko. Kazuko looks at it, then snatched it from her and began to nibble.

Temari sighs in relief and looks at the two dolls. They were guys with red hair, but nothing else to really distinguish them. "They don't see me anymore," Temari snapped her head back to face Kazuko who took a break from the muffin. "One's gone…the other doesn't seem to care…" a single tear ran down Kazuko's cheek.

"Who doesn't care?" Temari asked her as Kazuko went back to her muffin.

"Old teammate," Kazuko tells her while going back to her cream filled muffin.

"Baki?" Temari asked.

Kazuko lifted her head back, sighed then chuckeled, "Yeah, that's the guy."

"He's really busy I don't think he means to," Temari told her.

"Fuck that," Kazuko said as she took a big bite of a muffin, leaving some of the cream on her cheek, "Even the busiest of people take the time to see an old teammate."

"I'll drag him over here next time so you can hit him with a frying pan," Temari told her.

"Forget it. He's an ass. He'll block it anyway," Kazuko told her.

"I'll hold him down for you."

"Perrrrv…I'm a virgin," Kazuko told her.

"What-wait-no! not like that. I'll pin him with Kunais first, or I'll get my fiancé to catch him with his shadow," Temari told her.

"How long ago did you start your period?" Kazuko asked her.

"When I was ten," Temari told her.

"Hold on," Kazuko told her as she got up and left the room. Temari heard her rummaging thorough a drawer, and then heard her come back to the room. Then Kazuko smacked her hard.

"OW! What Was that?" Temari yelled as she jumped up and stared kunais at Kazuko.

"My spoon," said Kazuko.

"That's a whisk," Temari said pointing at the whisk in Kazuko's hand.

"Whatever, you're too young to get married," she told Temari with a evil glare.

"I am not," Temari spat back.

"I'm thirty-one and not married," Kazuko told her.

"Maybe you would be if you weren't dumping iced tea on-Hey!" Temari screamed as Iced-tea was poured all over her. She looked at Kazuko to see a giant straw pouring iced tea into a giant pitcher.

"Don't make me spill it on you twice," Kazuko said in a peeved voice, "You are far too young to get married."

Temari shook her head. "Kazuko…what would Baki and your other teammate say if they knew you were dumping iced tea and being emo at the same time?"

"Well," Kazuko started to think, "Baki would probably yell, 'You idiot.' And Saso-chan would ask if he could use his puppets to bomb the village with iced tea, and Baki would tell him , 'No! Don't encourage her.'"

Temari bursted out laughing then stopped. "What was your other teammates name again?"

"Oh, you mean Saso-chan?" Kazuko asked before getting slightly depressed, "His name was Sasori…"

**Now Temari knows. **

**Squirrel Girl: Thanks to me!**

**Unices: No. Thanks to Kazuko**

**Squirrel Girl: No Kazuko is one of me. We are one (We are one from Lion King II starts playing)**

**Unices: No, you just gave her lessons in crazyness. **

**Squirrel Girl: She's older than me**

**Unices: Well then she taught you how to be crazy**

**Squirrel Girl: I demand a review about Kazuko Crazy Readers.**


End file.
